Put Old on Hold Newsletter Links for June, 2010

Links for June, 2010

New Nerve Cells -- Even in Old Age: Researchers Find Different Types of Stem Cells in the Brains of Mature and Old Mice

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100506121751.htm

After birth the brain loses many nerve cells and this continues throughout life -- most neurons are formed before birth, after which many excess neurons degenerate. However, there are some cells that are still capable of division in old age -- in the brains of mice, at least.

Toddlers and TV: Early Exposure Has Negative and Long-Term Impact

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100503161229.htm

Want kids who are smarter and thinner? Keep them away from the television set as toddlers. A shocking study from child experts at the Université de Montréal, the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Center and the University of Michigan, published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, has found that television exposure at age two forecasts negative consequences for kids, ranging from poor school adjustment to unhealthy habits.

Exercise Can Forestall Osteoporosis

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100426105643.htm

The stage for osteoporosis is set well before menopause -- but exercise can help rewrite the script, according to Medical College of Georgia researchers.

Transplanted Adult Stem Cells Provide Lasting Help to Injured Hearts

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100507092459.htm

Human adult stem cells injected around the damage caused by a heart attack survived in the heart and improved its pumping efficiency for a year in a mouse model, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report online ahead of publication in Circulation Research.

Breast Cancer Metastasis Increases After Estrogen and Progestin Hormone Therapies, Study Finds

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100506112638.htm

After menopause, 6 to 10 million women take hormone therapies, which are often a combination of estrogen and progestin, to replace hormones lost from inactive ovaries. Progestin is a hormone that is used to counteract the potentially negative effects of estrogen therapy on the uterus. In studies sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, evidence has been found that estrogen and progestin in hormone therapies increase the risk of breast cancer in post-menopausal women. Now, a University of Missouri study has found that progestins can also increase the chance of the cancer metastasizing, or spreading to the lymph nodes.

Parental Involvement Key to Preventing Child Bullying

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100503074239.htm

Communities across the United States are developing programs to address child bullying. New research shows that parents can play an important role in preventing their children from becoming bullies in the first place.

How Dark Chocolate May Guard Against Brain Injury from Stroke

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100505163242.htm

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have discovered that a compound in dark chocolate may protect the brain after a stroke by increasing cellular signals already known to shield nerve cells from damage.

Friendship and Confiding in Spouse Eases Stress Over Sexual Issues in Older Men

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100505143134.htm

A new study suggests that it may not help older men and women with sexual problems to talk to a doctor, but men who talk to their partner report greater happiness -- and those who talked with friends felt less depressed.

Male Obesity Linked to Low Testosterone Levels, Study Shows

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100503135659.htm

Obesity, a condition linked to heart disease and diabetes, now appears to be associated with another health problem, but one that affects men only -- low testosterone levels.

Low Vitamin D Levels Are Related to MS Brain Atrophy, Cognitive Function, Studies Show

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100429153955.htm

Low vitamin D levels may be associated with more advanced physical disability and cognitive impairment in persons with multiple sclerosis, studies conducted by neurologists at the University at Buffalo have shown.

Health Care Bill Challenged in Ohio court

http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/content/view/print/303863

The United States Citizens Association is challenging the Health Care Reform Bill for unconstitutionally forcing American citizens to purchase health care insurance. The group’s Virginia-based attorney, Jonathan W Emord, says the Bill will force people to increase spending on mainstream health solutions and therefore reduce demand for other healthcare products such as dietary supplements.

Changing Thoughts Key to Battling Even Severe Depression

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100512125257.htm

Moderate to severely depressed clients showed greater improvement in cognitive therapy when therapists emphasized changing how they think rather than how they behave, new research has found.

Risks Associated With Common Acid-Suppressing Medications Documented in Series of Studies

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100510161248.htm

Proton pump inhibitors, medications that suppress acid in the stomach, appear to be associated with fractures in postmenopausal women and bacterial infections in many patients, and higher doses do not appear any more beneficial for treating bleeding ulcers, according to a series of reports in the May 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. An additional report finds that introducing guidelines for proton pump inhibitor use into clinical settings may reduce rates of inappropriate prescriptions.

Pay-for-Performance Programs May Worsen Medical Disparities, Study Finds

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100504074843.htm

Rewarding primary care physicians for providing better care to patients could end up widening medical disparities experienced by poorer people and those belonging to racial and ethnic minorities, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

Sponsoring by the Pharmaceutical Industry Can Bias the Results of Drug Studies, Study Suggests

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100507092335.htm

Drug studies financed by pharmaceutical companies frequently show positive results in favour of the sponsor.

Older adults need higher remedial doses of vitamin D deficiency: Study

http://www.nutraingredients.com/content/view/print/304264

Older adults suffering vitamin D deficiency need higher remedial doses than younger adults, according to a new research review.

The study, Correcting poor vitamin D status: Do older adults need higher repletion doses of vitamin D3 than younger adults?, concluded that: “The doses and total time for repleting older adults with vitamin D3 appeared to be greater than for younger adults, in part due to the lower starting baseline vitamin D status.”

Beauty food trend slows in Europe

http://www.cosmeticsdesign.com/content/view/print/304554

The trend for ingestible beauty products with beauty enhancing claims has slowed in Europe despite last year’s brighter predictions, according to Mintel.

In a survey conducted by Mintel, 4 in 10 women said that they believe there is no need for nutricosmetics if they have a healthy diet. In addition, among women who use nutricosmetics, only 19 per cent say that they think this type of product really works.

Manufacturers "too cautious” with best-before dates

http://www.nutraingredients.com/content/view/print/304419

Food manufacturers are being “far too cautious” when it comes to setting best-before dates for many ambient food products, according to a leading academic in the field of sensory shelf-life testing. Speaking at Leatherhead Food Research’s food innovation day last week, Dr Guillermo Hough said that consumer testing on products at the end of their shelf-life typically revealed that “many could have had their shelf lives extended”.

Abdominal Fat at Middle Age Associated With Greater Risk of Dementia: Obesity Linked to Lower Total Brain Volume

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100520092940.htm

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine determined that excess abdominal fat places otherwise healthy, middle-aged people at risk for dementia later in life. Preliminary findings suggest a relationship between obesity and dementia that could lead to promising prevention strategies in the future.

Severity of Binge Eating Disorder Linked to Childhood Sexual or Emotional Abuse, Researchers Find

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100512125230.htm

David M. Dunkley, a psychiatric researcher and clinical psychologist at the Jewish General Hospital (JGH) in Montreal, and his colleagues studied a group of 170 BED sufferers and discovered that the severity of the condition -- reflected by greater body dissatisfaction and depressive symptoms -- appears to be linked to very specific histories of childhood sexual or emotional abuse, which in turn lead to self-criticism.

Multivitamins Can Add Sparkle for Healthy Young People

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100514075108.htm

The effects of multivitamins are most often researched in the elderly. This is one of very few studies to assess the relationship between supplementation with vitamins/minerals and psychological functioning in healthy groups of non-elderly adults. This study shows how a proprietary multivitamin and mineral supplement improves mood and mental performance while also reducing stress, mental tiredness and fatigue in healthy males.

Medicalizing Human Conditions: A Growth Industry -- But What Does It Cost?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100517152536.htm

Menopause. Normal pregnancy. Infertility. ADHD. Erectile dysfunction. Over the last several decades, these conditions have come to be defined and treated as medical problems. They've been "medicalized." In the first study of its kind in the current issue of Social Science and Medicine, Brandeis researchers used national data to estimate the costs of these and a handful of other common conditions on escalating U.S. healthcare spending.

Suicide Risk for Seniors Moving Into Residential Homes

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100518180840.htm

"While a move can represent a positive change, all moves involve some degree of loss," say Carol Podgorski from the University of Rochester in New York and colleagues in an article published in PLoS Medicine, and this can lead to heightened risk for suicidal behavior.

Regular Use of Aspirin Increases Risk of Crohn's Disease by 5 Times, Study Finds

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100503192451.htm

People who take aspirin regularly for a year or more may be at an increased risk of developing Crohn's disease, according to a new study by the University of East Anglia (UEA).

Over-Diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder and Disability Payments -- A Link?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100519121643.htm

A study from Rhode Island Hospital finds patients who were "over-diagnosed" with bipolar disorder were more likely to have received disability payments and for a longer period of time. The researchers propose a link between these unconfirmed cases of bipolar disorder and the receipt of the payments. Their study and findings are published in the June 2010 edition of the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease.

Caffeine May Slow Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias, Restore Cognitive Function, According to New Evidence

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100517111937.htm

Although caffeine is the most widely consumed psychoactive drug worldwide, its potential beneficial effect for maintenance of proper brain functioning has only recently begun to be adequately appreciated. Substantial evidence from epidemiological studies and fundamental research in animal models suggests that caffeine may be protective against the cognitive decline seen in dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Did the End of Smallpox Vaccination Cause the Explosive Spread of HIV?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100517204405.htm

Vaccinia immunization, as given to prevent the spread of smallpox, produces a five-fold reduction in HIV replication in the laboratory. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Immunology suggest that the end of smallpox vaccination in the mid-20th century may have caused a loss of protection that contributed to the rapid contemporary spread of HIV.

Pesticide Exposure May Contribute to ADHD, Study Finds

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100517132846.htm

A team of scientists from the University of Montreal and Harvard University has discovered that exposure to organophosphate pesticides may be associated with increased risk of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children.

Talking Seriously With Children Is Good for Their Language Proficiency

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100512172529.htm

How adults approach children aged 3 to 6 years during conversations has a major influence on their language acquisition. Those who address children as fully-fledged conversation partners lay an early basis for the development of 'academic language', says Dutch researcher Lotte Henrichs.

Bruce Ames: Vitamin insufficiency boosting age-related diseases

http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/content/view/print/276686

It is literally all about living for today. By understanding that nature favours survival today over tomorrow, a theory that vitamin inadequacy is behind the rise in chronic diseases “makes sense… and it is almost certainly going to be right,” says world-renowned scientist Bruce Ames.

Very high omega-3 intakes linked to big health benefits

http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/content/view/print/278536

Intakes of omega-3 exceeding levels consumed by the general US population may significantly reduce the risk of chronic disease, suggests a new study with Yup'ik Eskimos.

Indoor Tanning to Melanoma Definitively Linked in New Study, Researchers Say

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100527101502.htm

Researchers say a new study from the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health and Masonic Cancer Center definitively links the use of indoor tanning devices to increased risk of melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer.

Some Statins Have Unintended Effects and Warrant Closer Monitoring, Study Finds

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100526095658.htm

ScienceDaily (May 27, 2010) — The type and dosage of statin drugs given to patients to treat heart disease should be proactively monitored as they can have unintended adverse effects, concludes a new study on the British Medical Journal website.

Source: June, 2010 Put Old on Hold Newsletter